Let the land produce . . . A Grammatical Observation

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1.24-25

For a third view on this phrase "let the land produce," I go to John Walton and his previously mentioned argument that the whole creation story in Genesis is one of God assigning function to various entities in the world he had already made for humanity.  Again I find this on the ever-interesting BioLogos website.

Perhaps you remember that Walton is a self-titled "text guy."  His point is from grammar.

"Finally in day 6 we encounter a situation where the direct object of the verb (made) is something that both we and the Israelites would have understood to be material. Even here, however, the statement that God made the animals (1:25) is the result of the statement in the previous verse for the land to produce the animals. This is then a case of God’s indirect involvement only through an indicated instrument rather than as a direct material act of creation. It is perfectly normal for the verb used here (‘asa, “made”) to be used of indirect activity. Since the statement about God making animals follows the wording 'let the land produce,' it is not as clear that the text means to describe the actual making of objects. And given that it has been focused on issues of order/function thus far, literary consistency should lead us to see day six in the same way. By indicating the 'kinds' the narrator is drawing attention to the great diversity of life that inhabits our world.  - See more at: http://biologos.org/blogs/archive/material-or-function-in-genesis-1-john-walton-responds-part-2#sthash.FKVnh0qt.dpuf

Let the land produce, and no second guessing.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1.24-25  NIV

Here's another take on the "let the land produce" mystery, this from emeritus professor of biology and former Biologos president, Darrel Falk.

"The Genesis narrative gives us no details about the mechanism by which God brought the universe and life into existence. God gave the charge: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky..., “ “Let the waters bring forth…,” “Let the land bring forth…,” “Let the birds multiply…,” and, in response, we are told, it happened. Scripture does not explain how it happened, although as we read God’s other book—the book of nature—we see that God’s work extended over a long period of time. In these details, the Bible does not say whether the “bringing forth” was fulfilled through God’s natural activity (that which is regular, ongoing, and can be described by science) or God’s supernatural activity (that which is not regular and predictable). Given the many examples of supernatural activity in Scripture, we human beings tend to expect that for something as special as creation of stars or new species, supernatural activity would have been required. But we cannot derive this from the scriptural account and, therefore, it is wise not to second-guess how God might have worked based on the Scriptures." - See more at: http://biologos.org/blogs/archive/a-biologos-response-to-william-dembski-part-1#sthash.YKKk7Uh7.dpuf

Let the land produce . . . .

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1.24-25  NIV

Interesting, isn't it?  The text doesn't say, "And God said, 'Let there be living creatures.'"  It says, "And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures.'"  Let the land produce them.  Then it says God made them.

Here is the thought of Bill Hankel, a biologos.org guest writer:  "In recent years, I have been able to read the Bible with a new set of eyes that see the language of God in perfect harmony with what we find in nature. Some passages actually seem to make more sense when filtered through the prism of evolving creation. For example, Genesis 1:24 tells us that God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds …', and while this surely is not a scientific statement of evolution, it does show that God is comfortable 'creating' through secondary means. Imploring the land to produce more of the life he kindled seems to fit rather well with a creator who established the laws that govern our universe and let them play their part in the unfolding of our world. I believe God’s command to his creation to 'be fruitful' can reasonably be understood in an evolutionary context." 
See more at: http://biologos.org/blogs/archive/god-the-cosmic-gardener#sthash.GyJiD3A2.dpuf

Hmmm.

Swarming Abundance

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.  Genesis1.20-23  NIV

On day 5 God continues with filling the habitat he has made, and he does so generously and abundantly.  After he, by whatever means, brings teeming life to the waters, he blesses that life with the edict to be fruitful.  His provision bounty is seen throughout the natural world.  Frogs lay thousands of eggs at a time.  Maple trees throw off bajillions of maple seeds.  A human male produces over 500 billion sperm cells in a lifetime.  God is not skimpy in his plan for ongoing life.

Bird Beaks

. . . and every winged bird according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good.   Genesis 1.20b  NIV

In the daily devotional Inspired Evidence:  Only One Reality, Julie Von Vett and Bruce Malone support their young earth view with evidence for creation from many scientific disciplines .  While I disagree strongly with their main premise that one must choose either the biblical view or the scientific view (to the full exclusion of the other), the authors do give some interesting and relevant examples.  Here is one of their claims involving birds.

Scientists since Darwin have continued to study his famous example of the changing beaks of Galapagos finches.  However, with the knowledge of genetics, biologists now recognize that the bird bills "change shape within the egg while the beak is forming as the food source varies."   A protein which signals the molecules which control the formation of bone causes the finch embryo to produce the shape of bill needed in its environment.  "These changes," say Von Vett and Malone, "are not the result of mutations but design within the organism."

Emergence Explanation Fail

And God said, Let the water team with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.  Genesis 1.20  NIV

Here finally comes animal life on planet earth in our creation narrative.  Of course, the origin of life is a huge question in several fields of science.  Being an enthusiastic student at UI's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), I was excited this past semester to note a course called “The Emergence of Life.”  It was taught by the diversely focused, talented, and entertaining Bruce Fouke, professor in geology, microbiology and the Woese institute for Genomic Biology.

In the class I learned that the traditional view of the tree of life has expanded incredibly just over the last few decades.  Here is the updated diagram.  Inside the circle is what was known and taught when I was in high school.  So much more has come to light since then!  Our class was updated on this and shown examples of evolution.  In the entire eight weeks however, Dr. Fouke shed no light on the actual origin of life.  How could he?

Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, says this in his book The Language of God:  "How did self-replicating organisms arise . . . ?  It is fair to say that at the present time we simply do not know.  No current hypothesis comes close to explaining how in the space of a mere 150 million years, the prebiotic environment that existed on planet Earth gave rise to life."

Perhaps it's not fair to say the Emergence of Life class did not explain the emergence of life.  I suppose Dr. Fouke could say that he meant emergence of life from lower forms to higher forms rather than the emergence of life from inorganic matter.

PS  Thank you, Em, for the formatting help tonight!

Everything created is a message.

Tonight I had the privilege to hear Gary Wills, prolific author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Professor Emeritus of History at Northwestern University.  He spoke here at the University of Illinois about humans' relationship to the earth.  He asserted, in agreement I'd say with St. Augustine and many others, that "everything created is a message."  God speaks to us through the world of nature.  

Wills is Catholic, although uncharacteristically so.  Here's a five-minute clip of him startling Stephen Colbert with his thoughts about abolishing the priesthood.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/he6l0j/the-colbert-report-garry-wills